Boston vs. New Jersey: Nets Avoid Season Sweep, Beat the Celtics, 88-79
Well, so much for the joy of yesterday’s historical outing. The night after the Boston Celtics held the Milwaukee Bucks to a franchise low 57 points, they went to New Jersey and lost to the Nets for the first time in four tries on the season.
New Jersey took an early 14-9 lead behind seven points from Kris Humphries. The last of those 14 came on a Humphries three point play at the 6:28 mark . After that, the Celtics D clamped down and held the Nets scoreless for the rest of the quarter. Boston finished the quarter on a 14-0 run, 23-14.
The second went almost in the opposite of the first, as New Jersey won the quarter 22-15, giving the Celtics a two-point lead going into halftime.
Ray Allen and Brook Lopez tied for first half leading scorer, with each scoring 10.
Boston continued to lead till the midway point of the third, when momentum began to shift New Jersey’s way. Come quarter end the Nets had jumped ahead 67-61.
One factor of the game was lack of free throws by Boston. After only one free throw in the first half (A Nets 3-second call), Boston didn’t get their first shooting foul until Glenn Davis got to the line in the final two minutes of the third.
In the end, New Jersey would miss more free throws (15-of-24) than Boston shot (8-of-9).
Another factor was New Jersey’s three point shooting. The Nets went 11-of-24 from behind the arc, compared to only 2-of-10 by Boston.
New Jersey was able to create their biggest lead of the night at 9:33 of the fourth, 74-62. Following a Doc Rivers timeout, Boston began their attempt at a comeback, eventually cutting the lead down to two with 3:09 remaining in the game.
Boston would have plenty of chances to tie the game, but were unable to do so and New Jersey capitalized finishing the game on a 7-0 run. Included in this was a backbreaking three pointer by Deron Williams 35 seconds to go.
New Jersey won the game 88-79, their fifth in a row.
Lopez added another 10 in the second half, to be the games high scorer. Humphries finished with 16 and 15 rebounds, his fifth straight game with 15-plus rebounds. Williams just missed a double-double, with 16 points and nine assists.
Allen led Celtics scorers with 19. Kevin Garnett was only one behind at 18. Glenn Davis had the best all-around game, going for 16 and 14 boards.
Rajon Rondo struggles continue. Twice Rondo had to leave the game with injuries, returning each time. Rondo only had two points, with nine assists, but six turnovers.
Paul Pierce had seven points and boards in the game, while Jeff Green also had seven off the bench, but on 3-of-11 shooting. Troy Murphy returned to his normal play, going scoreless over nine minutes.
The Celtics have dropped three of four and are no longer alone atop the east. With tonight’s loss, Boston fell into a tie with the Chicago Bulls, as each are currently sporting a 47-18 record.
